Retro-Education : Is " Modern " Really Better? 

This article discusses the efficacy of modern, conceptual curriculum methods in elementary education in terms of brain function ; particularly regarding the neural processes of noise reduction, pathway establishment and memory consolidation.

Nostalgia

Once upon a time subjects in school were divided into discreet categories, enabling students to have a clear expectation of the task at hand. At the risk of oversimplifying : History pertained to what happened in the course of time : e. g. wars, trends, politics, movements, outcomes. Geography referred to the characteristics of places : landscapes, mountain ranges, continents, etc. Meanwhile, English grammar class consisted to learning about parts of speech, punctuation and other language mechanics and math was often divided neatly into adding, subtracting, multiplying, word problems and at higher grade levels, geometry and algebra. It might seem amusing, yet perhaps accurate to refer to this method as the “place for everything, everything in its place” curriculum. In this system there were no hybrid names such as Language Arts or Social Studies. Math curricula did not include overlapping, conceptual approaches in which the student was expected to assimilate from among simultaneous smidgeons of addition, subtraction, geometry and other math operations. Now of course, modern curricula feature such integrative, conceptual approaches based on the notion that this will enable the child to piece together the puzzle and end up with an enhanced level of proficiency as well as a meta-cognitive “grasp” of the subject matter.

Two confounding factors in education theory have prevailed over the past several decades. One is the presumption that increased technology would lead to more skilled, enlightened students. During the 1992 presidential campaign, vice presidential nominee Al Gore said he looked forward to a time when all students would have mega access to Internet-generated information, including the Library of Congress. He was right about the access part, wrong about the search part. Turns out kids did what one would expect kids to do ; use the computer as a play object, leading to a generation of students able to type out transformers on the keyboard but unable to spell cat on the blackboard.

The second notion was that the mind of a child is conceptual and capable of understanding concepts even before specific detail-oriented neural pathways are entrenched in the brain to facilitate automaticity.
Judging by most recent results and the number of students identified with special education needs, the latter theory seems not to have panned out. Interestingly, every time student performance declines in the USA a newer, more conceptual and loftier curriculum, arguably beyond the reach of even some students with average intelligence is put in play.

To cope with the cost, as well as the academic frustration inherent in this process, school districts have attempted to address certain aspects of the problem. Making special education eligibility more rigorous has been one. The introduction of RTI – which, despite the claim that it provides a more normalized alternative to special education, “identifies” students in much the same way via tier-distinctions, has been another. Meanwhile the curriculum either retains the same circular format is conceptually embellished in an ironic (perhaps even Panglossian) attempt to ensure higher student achievement.

The results have been both predictable and sobering. A report by Harvard University showed that students in Latvia, Chile and Brazil are improving their academic skills at a rate three times as fast as American students. Students in Colombia, Lithuania, Poland and Lichtenstein do so at twice the rate of American students. (2012) Middle school American students are now behind roughly 25 other nations in broad student achievement even as new thinkers are proposing more rigorous academic standards for them. It seems a bit like asking a very short-legged person to overcome his inability to jump over a hurdle by increasing its height. This writer would submit – less whimsically – that the true goal of public education is not to win some sort of vaguely defined international competition but to reach as many students along the normal curve as possible so that more can learn basic and necessary skills through which to function as adults. The American education system, which is more quintessentially public and inclusive than any other in the world cannot be elitist and public at one and the same time.

In some ways this reflects a logically flawed argument implicit in the notion of the “American Dream. ” It is the idea that all American students ought to be able to go to college in order to better themselves and increase their living standards. Obviously if that many young people graduated from college, the supply of college grads would exceed demand, resulting in more joblessness and lower pay scales for those graduates.
Thus far the argument has been somewhat pedantic - nothing more than broad-strokes criticism that might be countered by equally persuasive arguments in support of modern education curricula and educational philosophy. To get beyond that, it might help to discuss the development of brain and cognition in early childhood.

From Categorical to Conceptual

Human brain development is fascinating, because for all the talk among paleo-anthropologists about how large brains define the human species, it is actually a reduction in brain volume that ultimately enhances human cognition. At several stages in early childhood and early adolescence the brain undergoes what is often called a pruning process (Chechik, Gal. et al 1999). During these stages, most notably at approximately 2 years of age, 7 years of age, 11 years of age and 15 years of age, brain tissue is shed. At face value this might seem detrimental to enhanced cognition. In fact the opposite is true. In childhood a great deal of factual details and associations are learned and stored categorically – these comprised the nuts and bolts of what educators often refer to as automaticity. That is why a young child differentiates between parents and others, why asking a four year to process both his needs and the reactions of others through advanced social-empathic abilities is unrealistic. Their neural wiring runs parallel to that.

  Two types of neural columns in the brain arise in brain development. Vertical pathways allow for such categorical processing skills – and give the child a kind of linear cognitive topography. Since volume-learning is so essential in the early years the pruning process is gradual. In terms of learning style, categorical learning must precede conceptual learning. It is not a function of educational theory but a neurological mandate.

At various points in development, horizontal neural networks begin to intertwine with horizontal pathways. That intermingling enables various associations to connect with one another. That in turn makes experiential comparisons possible. Visual inputs can mingle with auditory inputs and/or tactile inputs to create multi-sensory thoughts, feelings and linguistic concepts. The child can then begin to gain a gestalt of his world, including the figure-ground perception enabling him to process both his own needs and that of others. As Kohler (1981) and Piaget (1932) have suggested, this gives rise to the proto-conceptual aspects of moral thought.

At the age of seven this begins in small steps. Over time an increase in horizontal-vertical cross-grid innervations will accelerate the pruning mechanism, giving the older child a greater reference point for storing knowledge, that is, a back-up system with greater redundancy and integrative capacities. At that point the child, now approaching adolescence and cognitive brain maturation, no longer needs as much brain tissue to retain memories. Also, due to the cross grid “meshing” of neurons, the older child can think in terms of relationships and concepts, not just singular categories.

Yet the brain of an elementary school student is still primarily categorical and will remain so until the latency-early adolescent years when pruning reaches its final stages.

Another developmental factor can be considered in advocating for a retro-education approach. It has to do with the establishment and reliance on categorical knowledge as a noise reducing process.

Feed-forward, Memory Consolidation and Automaticity

The mass and volume of the human brain is still vast, despite pruning periods, which means that the establishment and retrieval of skill memories will be subject to noise interference. Even in post-pruning stages, the human brain has roughly 25 billion neural connections, and due to what Lashley (1950) referred to as the mass action-equipotentiality phenomenon much of the brain will be active for each task. Memory retrieval would thus require a superior sifting process, a means of selectively disregarding neural inputs devoted to irrelevant sensations or skill memories. Such a noise-reduction mechanism unfolds in the brain in several ways. One is through the use of categorical language skills, especially self-regulatory language, to guide one’s focus. In fact, despite its social and communicative benefits some have argued that the original evolutionary advantage of human language might have been to enhance memory, attention span and selective attention faculties – in other words as a luck-of-the-draw mutation providing a broad categorical/organizational access in an extraordinarily large, noisy brain. (Vallotin & Ayoub 2011).
Another means of sifting is called the feed-forward or “gating” response. It entails having an expectation or bias that provides for pre-recognition of what does and does not coincide with relevant input. In some ways this is nothing more than a neural version of Piaget’s notion of the scheme ; although his concept pertained to previously learned ideas rather than a mechanical pre-set and noise-reducing mechanism.

From Brain to Classroom

The gradual development of the human brain has implications for education theory ; one of which is that in elementary grades the old-style, categorical method is more brain-friendly, more likely to lead to automaticity and down the road, to age-appropriate conceptual thinking. Translating that process into a curriculum theory would no doubt over-turn apple carts and invite criticism. On the other hand, since the modern curriculum methods don’t seem to be working very well, perhaps it is time for new ideas, particularly those grounded in old ideas that seemed to work better. In a more practical context, a return to a retro-educational approach might entail the following revisions.
1. That the elementary school curriculum be rigorously categorical from grades 1-5, then gradually conceptualized in grades 6 and 7.
2. That the actual name of subjects should have a tight and categorical association with the material to be taught. Labels and categories like Geography and History are more categorical and brain friendly and have greater feed forward value than ambiguous terms such as Social Studies or Language Arts. Breaking up language classes into categorical, discreet units such as grammar, spelling, reading, writing etc. would be more learnable at the elementary level. In that context, the teacher would explain to the class exactly what they would be learning from the outset in an information-friendly theme/variations format where the subject’s title correlates directly with the material to be learned. Undoubtedly many modern educators, and certainly the theoreticians who espouse the modern methods might be rendered uncomfortable with such a regressive approach. On the other hand the student might find it very comforting. More to the point, they might learn more, memorize more, develop more solid degrees of automaticity in all skill areas and conceivably make less necessary the interventions provided in special education and RTI formats.
3. A return to a more categorical format would enable teachers to truly understand levels of student achievement in building blocks fashion and perhaps they would see fewer students with double and triple ceilings in their academic performance.
4. Returning to a categorical method would likely umbrella more students along the normal curve and set the stage for a higher rate of functional skills within the population – as opposed to establishing ever-higher standards and peeling off even students with potentially average intellectual abilities.
5. Use of a categorical (old-school…pardon the pun) teaching method would enable teachers to use time-tested memory-friendly/drill exercises such as rhythm, music, word-spelling formulas such as… i after e except after c. While some teachers are creative enough to incorporate such mechanics into the modern, conceptual method it is more difficult to employ that kind of associative approach in a conceptual teaching format. In some ways this is simple as saying narrow pathway teaching methods such as repetition, rhyme and recitation are more likely to lead to memory consolidation than the smorgasbord methods currently used in many current elementary classrooms.
6. When all is said and done, much of what plagues public education might boil down to a curriculum-driven inability among so many to retain what they have ostensibly been taught. The argument here is that some parts of this problem can be addressed via a simple strategy that merely requires teaching in ways that maximize a student’s capacity to memorize the material. In this opinion, the old methods did that, the new ones do not.

REFERENCES

Chechlik, G. Mellijson, I. Ruppino, E. (1999) Neuronal Regulation : A Mechanism for Synaptic Pruning During Brain Maturation. Neuronal Computation 11 (8) 2061-2080

(Educational Study Reference). Report by Harvard University Program on Educational Policy and Governance. 2012

Kohlberg, L. (1981) Essays on Moral Development. Vol 1. The Philosophy of Moral Development. San Francisco. Harper & Row.

Lashley, KS. (1950) In Search of the Engram. In Symposium of the Society for Experimental Biology No IV Cambridge University Press.

Piaget, J (1932) The Moral Judgment of the Child. London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.

Vallotin, C. & Ayoub, C (2011) Use Your Words : The Role of Language in the Development of Toddler’s Self-Regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 26 (2) : 169-181

Robert DePaolo, MS Clinical Psychology. Practitioner, Licensed Clinical and School Psychology, Former Professor of Psychology, NH University System, Author of five books and many articles.

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Date Joined : 30th Dec 2006
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Author Bio : Robert DePaolo. MS Licensed in Clinical and Educational Psychology. Currently employed in Northwood, NH School District. Author of five books and many articles. president of film co. Media Milestones

Common Core And Homeschooling

Many schools are experiencing the implementation of Common Core. Parents are finding out that the regulations that determine how the child will be educated might be more involved than they might have thought.

Homeschooling parents have considered themselves immune to the effects and regulations of Common Core because, after all, they are educating their children at home. But is it realistic to believe that homeschoolers can avoid the broad umbrella of Common Core?

There are a number of ways that Common Core may affect homeschoolers, both directly and indirectly. The following information is by no means exhaustive.

Data Collection

Currently homeschool students seem to be off the radar in many states. By right and by choice homeschooling families tend to want to keep their students out of the system. However, one of the components of Common Core is that it allows for a database of student information which begins in kindergarten and continues through the student’s entry into the workforce.

In states where students are not required to register in any way to homeschool the amount of data collected on that student will be minimal. However, for states that seek more control over their homeschoolers, those homeschoolers will be providing information for that database. While it may not seem like much, this database is accessible by outside sources which might not need to access student’s names and other personal information.

Standardized Testing

Homeschooling students in many states are not required to submit to standardized testing. In a number of states homeschool students who are not associated with church schools are required to participate in state testing. Homeschool students who are required to participate in state testing will have a fundamental freedom removed from them. Because they will be tested according to state standards, which are aligned with Common Core Standards, homeschool students will have to study homeschooling curriculum that will prepare them for those tests.

This removes the freedom to choose certain curricula. Homeschoolers pride themselves on their ability to choose the curriculum that is best suited for their student’s learning style and also their philosophical reasons for homechooling. By having to study curricula that are aligned with Common Core the homeschoolers are being forced to participate in a system that many of them oppose.

And College Entrance Exams

At a point in the foreseeable future college entrance exams will be rewritten and adapted to fit the curriculum that is being taught in public schools. The curriculum in public schools across the country will be aligned to Common Core Standards. Part of the reason Common Core is being enacted is to make the curriculum all across the country standard. Because of this, it makes perfect sense for the college entrance exams to reflect this.

Just as with standardized testing in elementary school, middle school, and high school, college entrance exam requirements will, by default, require that homeschoolers conform to learning the body of knowledge that will allow them to do best on these exams. If they choose to study homeschool curricula that do not currently conform to the Common Core Standards, or do not adapt to align with those standards they will be penalized for this lack of conformity by potentially lower test scores.

Finally, from the standpoint of someone who does not mind data being collected on their children, and consequently their families, and who does not mind that curriculum choices are being made for their children without their input or their control, it might seem odd that anyone would object to the implementation of Common Core standards and requirements across the country. However, there is a whole group of people, generally homeschoolers, who do not believe that the state or the federal government have the right to control how their children are educated. Neither the state nor the federal government should have the right or ability to collect, store, and disseminate information on the student or family. Common Core might seem like a step toward Big Brother and away from the freedoms that they enjoy as homeschoolers

Five Frequently Asked Homeschooling Questions 

Families who are considering homeschooling often have many questions. Below you will find frequently asked questions posed by new homeschooling families.

1. Is homeschooling legal?

In the United States, absolutely yes! All fifty states recognize some method of educating children at home. Some states offer free public school online, others recognize church or umbrella schools. Some states do not require parents to even notify the state if they intend to homeschool. The first suggestion if you are considering homeschooling is to check with your state Department of Education and see what the regulations are for pulling a child from their existing traditional education situation and placing them in a homeschool situation. If the child has not attended traditional school it may require a different set of notifications. Homeschooling is legal, but it is extremely important that each family be in complete compliance with their state’s homeschooling laws since those laws differ from state to state.

2. Where do I find curriculum?

There are several options for finding a homeschool curriculum. One of the best ways to find out about what curricula are available is to ask other homeschooling families. Each will have their own favorite curriculum or combination of different curricula. Some families go to homeschool conventions where curriculum vendors present the best of their wares. Other families search the internet for all or parts of their instructional material. In states where a free, online public education is offered, the department of education might even provide books, materials, even use of a computer. Libraries are a great source of educational material, especially where literature and history are concerned. For early elementary students there are many sources for basic math, spelling, and penmanship worksheets that can be printed from the internet. Don’t forget to include educational games as part of the curriculum for everything from multiplication tables to spelling and keyboarding games.

3. Is homeschooling expensive?

Homeschooling does not have to be expensive. Sources of educational material are wide-spread. For families unwilling or unable to spend a lot of money there are free and low cost curricula to be found online. The other end of the spectrum are the all-in-one box curricula which may be quite costly, however they do offer many services including lesson planning and grading as well as record-keeping and an interface with the department of education. Essentially, homeschooling can be as cost effective or as expensive as a family chooses. There are many options between the two extremes that will accommodate families in all economic circumstances.

4. What if I can’t teach a subject?

Not every parent will feel comfortable teaching every subject. While most parents will feel comfortable teaching the basics to younger students, when it comes to advanced composition, calculus, or chemistry many parents feel like they are not qualified to teach their students. Other courses such as foreign languages or music instruction often require more teaching than a parent might feel comfortable with. The answer to this dilemma is to out-source. Check with local homeschool support groups to see if a co-op offers group classes. Check with the library to see if they offer courses. Many times college students earn money through tutoring so check with your closest college or university to see if tutors are available. Often checking with fellow homeschoolers will show a need and you might join with other families to fund a course. There are always people who are willing to pass on their knowledge, some for free, some for a fee. Ask around!

5. Do colleges accept homeschooled students?

In the past colleges might have been hesitant to accept homeschoolers because they were unsure of the amount of preparation homeschoolers might receive. However, that has changed for the most part. Colleges find that homeschoolers are generally well prepared for college courses, performing better on standardized tests and required less remedial work than some traditionally educated students. Colleges also find that homeschool high school students often take dual credit courses which provide both high school and college credit. Homeschool students tend to be self-starters and are accustomed to studying and preparing projects. In fact, many institutions of higher learning seek out homeschool students because they find that homeschooled students measure up very competitively with other students.

Finally…

There are, of course, many questions regarding homeschooling and how to begin the process of homeschooling. Families looking to homeschool need to be legal with their state and local department of education. Families should look for instructional materials that teach to the student in the way that the student learns.

Support is very important, online searches will provide information on local or regional support groups. Support groups are a great source both for finding curricula, and for making sure you are legal with the state. Many online curricula provide online forums or help to assist homeschooling families.

The internet and local libraries are great places to begin researching the questions new homeschooling families may have. Homeschooling is a growing trend and as more families choose this educational option there will be more people with experience to answer those questions